A well-known City doc and former provincial politician is not trying his hand at federal politics.Dr. Ed Doherty tells CHSJ News despite many calls for him to run, he will not be pursuing a federal liberal nomination.

He says he has reopened his ophthalmology practice and while he's been lucky enough to pursue two careers, he will be focusing on his medical career.

Doherty says this decision does not reflect upon his experience in the previous Graham government.He adds it was an honour to serve with the province and he enjoyed every minute of it.

Construction continues on the massive Peel Plaza project.
It includes provincial law courts,a new police station and multi-level parking garage.
Despite a tough winter, Project Engineer Gerry Mattson tells CHSJ News the project is running on schedule.

He says the winter impacts production but they are able to work on other aspects of the project when it snows or rain and he says it evens out. The seven-level parking garage will have 446 spaces with entrances and exits from Carleton and Sewell streets.

As the federal budget comes down tomorrow with speculation it could very well trigger a spring election, Saint John M-P Rodney Weston scoffs at the notion of the federal Liberals being the party of the middle class.

Federal Liberal leader Micheal Ignatieff has been railing against corporate tax cuts which Weston also finds ironic. He says there will be no corporate tax cuts in the budget because they were in the last budget which Ignatieff voted in favour of.

There's some anxiety and worry among university administrators and students with what will be in tomorrow's provincial budget on higher education.

The President of the Student Union at U-N-B Shannon Carmont-McKinley tells CHSJ News students find themselves with their backs against the wall financially with tuition fees higher than most other provinces, including Ontario, if you exclude the expensive courses not available in this province.

U-N-B President Eddy Campbell says the provincial government will have to start investing in post-secondary education because New Brunswick is near the bottom in per student funding.

It's time the Pension Board's lawsuit against former Common Councillor John Ferguson for his outspoken criticism of the city's financially beleagurered pension plan is dropped for the sake of the financially beleaguered city taxpayer.

So says Saint John businessman Sandy Robertson who supported Ferguson's bid to become Mayor in the last municipal election. Robertson estimates the legal costs have now exceeded 2 million dollars.

Robertson also points out the city's insurance is paying for Ferguson's legal fees and complains about a lack of transparency........No one seems to have the slightest idea when this will ever get to court and why the pension board is continuing to go after Ferguson who is now the Town manager in St. Stephen.

Premier David Alward is warning there's going to be some pain in tomorrow's provincial budget.

Former Premier Bernard Lord is suggesting Alward should cut the deficit by 40 or even 50 per cent now that he's got the political capital to do so.

The President of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour Michel Boudreau tells CHSJ News it would be madness to cut taxes especially for large corporations.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation Debt Clock which is a 12 foot long, 6 foot high scoreboard showing the provincial debt and the rate it's growing by the second will be making a stop today in Fredericton. The Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Alward Government not to raise taxes.

Realtors say they want to be part of the discussions leading to a long term provincial strategy on wetlands. So says Jason Stephen who chairs the Government Relations Committee for the New Brunswick Real Estate Association.

He welcomes the changes that were announced by Environment Minister Margaret Ann Blaney especially getting rid of the predictive layer which he maintains caused alot of confusion and most of the anger from landowners.

Tim Vickers of the Atlantic Coastal Action Programme agrees there was alot of confusion, much of it misplaced. He doesn't see wetlands being lost even tough the changes give a gree light to developers to move ahead.

Blaney does warn real estate developers, they have found themselves in trouble in the past by building in areas where flooding has occurred.